Apollo 1

Crew:
    Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom
    Edward H. White, II
    Roger Chaffee

Tragedy struck on the launch pad during a preflight rehearsal for Apollo 204, which was to have been the first manned Apollo mission, and would have been launched 21 February 1967. All three astronauts lost their lives when fire swept through the Command Module.

Because of the fire, extensive reworking of the Command Module design delayed a manned Apollo launch for over a year and a half.

The Apollo 1 designation was given to the mission only after the fire. The AS-204 designation was later re-assigned to an unmanned test flight.

The Apollo 1 capsule is located at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. It is not on display.

In memory of Apollo 1.

Credit - NASA (click to enlarge)

(l to r) Edward White II, Virgil (Gus) Grissom, Roger Chaffee

(click photos to enlarge)

Credit - NASA	Credit - NASA
Interior of the Apollo Spacecraft after the fire.	Exterior of the Apollo Spacecraft after the fire.

A memorial page.